A Man and His Ghosts
by Paige M. Carter
Summary: Dean takes Renee on a special visit.


Notes: I own nothing! They belong to WWE. I'm not making money, don't sue me.

DARYDARYDARYDARYDARYDARYDARY

Renee was confused as they pulled up to a cemetery. "What're we doing here?"

Dean sighed, "I've got some visits to make." He climbed out of the car, grabbing the bouquets of flowers he'd bought earlier.

Now Renee was curious, they were in Cincinnati for RAW and the show was sold out because word had leaked that Dean was getting a title shot against Seth Rollins. She climbed out of the car and followed him inside.

The first grave they stopped at was for Jenae Gregory.

"She was my cousin, her mom was my paternal aunt Melanie. Aunt Mel got a hold of some bad heroin one night and died in the bathroom. I took care of Jenny for a year before DCS caught up with us."

Dean stopped to take a deep breath. "I did everything they asked so I could keep her with me. I knew that if she got into the foster care system, I'd never see her again and Jenny was so smart, she just needed a stable home life and I knew I could give her that."

He sniffled. "I was training to be a wrestler, but I had a full time job that could support us and I was willing to give up wrestling to keep her. I did everything those bastards asked me to do, and they still found an excuse to take her away from me. She ended up in the care of people who abused her, got pregnant by her foster father when she was fifteen and the bastard killed her and tried to claim she'd run away."

Dean wiped at his eyes, "The fucking social worker who made me jump through all those hoops because it would make me look better, then told the judge that I was completely unfit to keep Jenny, had the nerve to show up at the funeral. Had the nerve to tell me that putting Jenny with those bastards had been the right decision at the time, so I broke his nose."

He laid the bouquet on the headstone. "She deserved so much better than this. She'd had dreams of being a veterinarian and working at the zoo."

Renee looked at the headstone, it wasn't large, but it was clear that it had been chosen with love. It was pink granite, with a heart at the top, Jenae's name was inscribed with her birth and death dates, an inscription of 'Beloved Angel' below her name. "I'm so sorry." She'd known about his cousin, but not what had happened.

Dean kissed his fingers and pressed them to Jenae's name, before taking Renee's hand and heading to another part of the cemetery.

They stopped at several graves, friends of Dean's that had died, too many of them while they were teenagers or young adults, victims of drugs, alcohol, urban violence, or just bad luck. Renee had never really thought about how easily Dean could've ended up here and she would've never known him, he would've just been a statistic.

The final stone they stopped at was a little larger than Jenae's and read Deidre Good. With a jolt, Renee realized that this was Dean's mother. Dean's prostitute mother that he'd bashed so much in his Moxley promos.

Dean seemed to sense her thoughts, "Yeah, I said a lot of shit about her early in my career, but it was mostly because I was so angry about everything. I loved my mom, believe it or not, but I hated what she did to herself. I hated the johns that would smack her around, and would sometimes take swipes at me until I got big enough to fend them off with a baseball bat. I hated her worthless boyfriends that would rob us of what little we had. I hated the bastard that got her hooked on the hard stuff. I hated her for dying when I still needed her. I was just so angry and lonely, that I needed to let it out and those promos did that. I hated calling my mom those names, but it worked. It helped me vent, or I would've lost my mind. Especially after Jenae was taken from me."

Renee stared at him, "How old were you when she died?"

Dean sighed, "She died in her sleep a week after my 18th birthday. She'd been sick for about a year and I assumed it was the meth she was on. Deep down, I think she knew something else was wrong, but she held on until I was a legal adult so I wouldn't end up in foster care."

Renee was stunned, Dean almost never talked about his parents. They'd been dating for months and she only knew the bare minimum about them. "God, Dean."

Dean nodded, "She and my dad had bought plots when they were first married, and I had just enough money in my bank account to cover a casket and them digging the grave, but nothing for a headstone. Matt Anoa'i loaned me the money after he heard what happened, and I paid him back out of my paycheck from working in his restaurant."

Renee looked at him, "Roman's brother Matt?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah. Matt wrestled here for awhile as Kimo before he started his restaurant."

Renee was stunned, even after all the months they'd been dating, Dean still managed to surprise her. "I had no idea."

Dean shook his head, "Not a lot of people know. I always try to visit whenever we're in Cincy."

"Does Roman know?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah, he usually comes with me. When Sami, Drake, and I were working in the same promotions, they'd come with me. I wanted you to come this time."

Suddenly Renee realized why Dean had brought her here, he trusted her. All the people he'd mentioned were people he trusted, people that he knew would keep his secrets. To be put in the same category as Roman, Sami, and Drake felt like a huge honor to her.

Dean reached out to her and she took his hand.

"I miss you, Mom. I've got a title shot tonight and I wish you were here to see it," Dean said. "This is Renee, we've been dating for six months and I thought it was time you met her."

Renee looked at the headstone, if she squinted, she could almost see Dean's mother looking back at her, assessing her and her fitness to be with Dean. She'd seen the one picture Dean had of his mother, back before his dad was arrested, and she knew that Dean looked a lot like her.

Finally, Dean kissed the headstone and turned to leave. As they headed back to the car, Renee stole a glance back. Maybe it was her imagination, but she could swear she saw several people standing around the cemetery, watching them, and she knew who they were. She silently swore to them that she would take care of Dean and prove herself worthy of this extraordinary man, and his ghosts.

The End.


End file.
